*BOOM*
A powerful explosion sent me flying and I crashed into the wall then slowly slid to the floor.
"Uhh," I grunted while trying to stand but stumbled back.
My head was spinning and it was hard to think. My whole body was in terrible shape and when I looked at my left arm I winced from the sight. It was still attached to my body, but only thanks to my altered bones... which is basically all that was left of it. Not that surprising considering that just a moment ago the source of the explosion was attached on my wrist.
After Dahaal has turned me into a demon, my bones were even sturdier now, I have a feeling that even if the explosion was way more powerful, the result would be the same. Not even scratch could be seen on them. Multiple threads of muscle were already spreading over the bones, forming my arm anew... but the process was a bit to slow for my liking and it seems I will have to grab something to eat as soon as possible to replenish what was used to heal.
My body was now getting thinner at a frightening speed.
"Well..." I heard Phoenix from the opposite side of the room, "...that was, a bit dangerous."
Just like me, he was leaning on the wall, but save for dirt and blood on his clothes, he looked quite healthy already. Even our living clothes were mending cuts and holes at a different pace. As I still had no access to my pocket dimension, had to use the nutrients from my own body. Phoenix, on another hand, could use what was stored in his pocket dimension and even transfer where it was needed directly.
Unlike mine, his regeneration looked almost instant.
Can't wait for the day when I regain full control over my space-time magic.
As I looked at Phoenix he did the same in return and shortly both of us burst into laughter, but It didn't last very long as my laughter was suddenly replaced by a fit of coughing.
"I think this should be enough for today..." Phoenix frowned.
"Hey, wait a second," I immediately complained, "I said nothing when your new spell went out of control that time, why we have to stop just after one test? It's just a tiny explosion, I am sure that no one has even..."
"What happened?!" one of the templars, suddenly rushed into the laboratory.
"...noticed." I finished my sentence with a bitter smile.
Just as I was thinking what to say to make it sound better than it is, Diego rushed inside as well. This human with short brown hair and dark eyes was actually a champion that aimed his gun at me during our first meeting with the Goddess.
In his previous life, he was an engineer of sorts and most of the weapons champions use today were made by him. For the last few days, I was using his laboratory to work on some new toys. He was very interested in the weapons I made, but when I started working on CPU for my Catbit, that interest suddenly turned into mania and he almost never left my side.
When Diego saw the mess caused by the explosion, he stopped in his tracks, blinked a few times, then squealed like a little girl and fainted right on the spot. I looked at his body in disbelief and all of sudden my faith in champions dropped to rock bottom.
I know this was his laboratory and all that, but... isn't this a bit exaggerated?!
The templar, that was first to enter, quickly turned to check on the Champion. Another templar, who was now inside as well, for a moment glanced at my clothes covered in blood. After a slight hesitation, he rushed outside, and it was probably to call for some priest.
While no one has opposed the will of their goddess, some templars and priests were less than happy with a demon in the temple. The same could be said about many champions.
Needless to say, Diego wasn't among them... or at least that was the case until now.
The main reason why I used his laboratory instead of workshop Michael has already rented was because... I was kind of under house arrest.
Evelyn was very specific when asked that I stay inside the temple until the tournament. She wanted to avoid unnecessary troubles and I have to say, I was a bit hurt by her lack of trust.
It's not like I would start to murder everyone in sight just because I don't like them...
Even with restrictions on my freedom, overall it wasn't that bad. I was quite busy these days and made some new guns, even a new design for Catbit... though it seems it still needs some work. I was so sure that its mana core prototype was finally complete...
Oh well, at least I now have a few more options for making explosives.
"We should go while he is 'sleeping'." Phoenix smiled while approaching me.
When I was about to object, he looked at me with a piercing gaze and all I could do was nod my head in agreement.
While I have not expected to finish Catbit 3.0 before the tournament, I was hoping for a bit more progress. Oh, well, I guess we will have to do with the old design... at least for now.
Previously I have already made a few models of Catbit 2.0, but after I put all my heart into the third model, C2 paled in comparison... at least it doesn't explode. By the way, C2 is just Catbit 2.0 for short. The name sounded like some term from a sci-fi movie and I found it fitting within our working environment.
As Phoenix gently picked me in his arms I didn't resist. By now even my arm was completely healed and I could walk on my own, but I wasn't against being spoiled. Who wouldn't want to be carried like a princess from time to time?
But this was not what has happened!
When he tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes I wasn't pleased. As I looked at my arm, sharp claws resurfaced on the tip of each finger and when my gaze shifted to his butt an evil smile appeared on my face.
"Aahhhh!" a scream suddenly echoed through the halls.
*
And it was finally time for the tournament.
As it was just preliminaries, I wasn't expecting much, but I was in good mood nonetheless... or at least until we actually left the temple.
"By the Goddess!" another man suddenly shouted when saw our group.
"A real dragon..." someone joined him almost at the same time.
"When I heard that rumor, I thought it was just that, a rumor..."
Thanks to the class of beast tamers, the sight of beasts and monsters wasn't that rare within the city... but none of them could compare to our little dragon.
To ensure the safety of citizens, a squad of guards was escorting us yet again, and that's not counting the templars assigned by Evelyn. With a large crowd following almost our every step, probably even a child crawling on all four could keep up with us now.
"Can't we just... I don't know... kick them out of the way?" Jack asked annoyed.
Elmor grinned by his side and I could tell, that he was very fond of the idea. I couldn't blame him, even I have considered doing something similar.
As for Tristan, the main reason for all this attention, he was just looking around with curiosity. Not a single sign of fear from a few days ago.
"What are you doing, Den?!" suddenly one adventurer yelled at his friend. Unlike the rest of the people, the human in question was now heading right in our direction, "Idiot! Can't you see its color?! Of all things, why do you want to mess with a pissed dragon?"
His friend probably thought that the color of Tristan was a sign that he was very angry. While red dragons mentioned in the books are said to change the color only before unleashing their breath attack, the common folk had their own theory. Then again, they might be right. Dragons would never use their breath attack just to hunt. The heat of attack is simply too high, at best only charcoal would be left from the victim.
Words of the adventurer were not missed by the crowd and all of sudden there was a lot of space around us, which we immediately used to our advantage to increase the pace. We knew all too well, that it wouldn't last.
I looked at Tristan and smiled bitterly. As a dragon, he could attract a lot of attention, but at least his color also acted as a repellent. On the way to the guild, many brave souls had the same thought as this guy... but their courage usually vanished the moment Tristan noticed them.
Just like now...
"?!" The man almost fainted on the spot and quickly rushed away.
The sight of drooling dragon could be very... intimidating. Tristan looked at departing back of a man in confusion and then glanced at me as if asking why they always run.
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Unlike me, he was very popular at the temple and not counting the meals provided by the staff, many priests, templars, and even some champions often fed him in secret. He was already almost twice the size of what was a few days ago.
I wasn't too happy. I wanted to use food to motivate his training, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. After all, I couldn't be with him all the time.
When Tia saw his sad expression she quickly opened her mouth and started to shout.
"Hey! He isn't dangerous, he just wants mmhhmm..." but she was unable to finish as Jack with me put our hands on her mouth almost at the same time.
The last thing we needed is for people to learn that Tristan was actually no different from a puppy.
"An interesting pet you got there..." suddenly a feminine voice reached my ears from behind and I stopped to a halt.
A few people started to scream, and the guards escorting us took a defensive posture. Even before looking back I knew who it was and wasn't surprised when the sight that greeted me was a ghostly image of Sei.
"Holly shit!" Michael cursed at the side, "Hey, is that... is that what I think it is?"
"You again!" Phoenix glared at Sei, but then looked to the side and acted as if he didn't even exist.
I looked at the crowd around us and was once again curious by their reaction. But then it hit me. I simply was used to his looks, for others... his monster-like appearance was probably very scary, and the final touch was his 'smile'. Now that I think about it, even I thought Sei wanted to eat me when I saw him for the first time.
When I noticed that the screams have attracted even more people from our surroundings, I sighed in defeat and looked back. Tristan and Sei were now looking at each another, eventually, Tristan reached out and tried to touch Sei's projection with his claws.
"He is not a pet, Tristan is..." I paused for a moment, but the answer was quite obvious, "...he is my brother."
Wanted it or not he was my soul twin, so it was only natural to call him brother. It was either that or be his mother, after all, technically I was the one who created him. When I looked at Sei, a smile suddenly appeared on my face. Just a month ago, I had no idea how it feels like to have a bother, but now they pop up one after another.
"Brother?" Sei narrowed his eyes and for a moment I thought, that he will say something mean, just like he did to Phoenix that time.
I wasn't wrong.
"I don't want to be rude, Sis, but... why he looks way more charming than you?"
"You!" I quickly summoned my phantom tail and stabbed him in the chest. It was just a projection, so the attack harmlessly passed through the image, "you are lucky you are not there in person!"
"Oh?" his smile turned into a grin. "Then you wouldn't mind if I paid you a visit, right?"
"?!"
"Just kidding. I will be busy for at least a few months, so you better don't do something stupid like dying. Use the golems when needed, better yet, raise the level of your transmutation..."
"Golems?" I asked immediately. Don't tell me...
"Yes, quite a few of them were left. Just keep in mind that there will be no replacement for those that died."
My gaze suddenly shifted to the orb in my pocket, it was the only thing he gave me right before my departure. An image of golems charging at the beetle-like creatures suddenly flashed in my mind. If it's the same golems I was in charge off back then...
"How?" I asked as I picked the orb in my arm and looked at it closely. Just like before, I had no idea how it works, but now I knew what it was. I should have guessed the possibility when Phoenix was unable to store it in his dimension.
How was Sei able to create something like this? I can still remember how back in the day Phoenix tried to steal the golem during the ranking test... it was a complete failure, of course, because even forms of life like golems can't enter pocket dimensions.
"You shouldn't even have space-time magic!" I quickly added.
"And?" Sei smiled in response, "I also don't know any spells that would allow communication between different worlds, yet isn't this exactly what we do now? You should never underestimate a demon..."
*
"That was demon right?" Michael asked as we continued our walk, "The one that Eve... I mean the one that Lariel was talking about. Destroyer of the worlds. What was her name again, Risel... Razel..."
"You ask a lot of questions," I smiled in response. It was funny how thanks to his voice Sei was once again mistaken for a woman, Razel... Even I have no idea how she looks like... and I hope it will stay like this for a while.
"By the way, what are you doing there?" I asked the dwarf, "I thought that as Champion you was granted a seeded spot. Why would you waste your time with preliminaries?"
"You ask a lot of questions," he smiled in response.
"You want me to hit you, don't you?" I started to walk in his direction.
"Wait, I will speak! Seriously, you really are a demon... it's... well, it's because of money. Why else would I be there? No one expects much from preliminaries, but it's a perfect opportunity to learn about the opponents. Only a fool would rely on luck when making money from the bets."
Somehow I wasn't surprised.
When the guild finally entered our sight, I saw four griffons not far from the entrance. Two of the riders were by their side, but I couldn't see the other two, probably inside the guild. This was the first time I saw griffons from up close.
Even on all four, they were nearly two meters tall, but that only emphasized their beauty. Three of them were mostly yellow in color, but the last one was white as snow.
If only I was a bit more careful back then, maybe Tristan now would be...
Suddenly a thick bloodlust permeated the air and griffons, along with some adventurers in the vicinity immediately looked in our direction. Tristan took a more threatening posture and trying to look as tall as possible released a loud roar.
He now looked nothing like a puppy and the air around his body started to distort from the heat.
"Tristan," I looked at him with a strict gaze.
"~HMPH~," he released a sound in displeasure, but the pressure radiating from his body immediately vanished, "~STUPID BIRDS~"
I could feel that he was jealous and if I have to guess, my thoughts from a moment ago leaked through our soul. Sometimes that bond of ours was... inconvenient.
*
"♪ On behalf of our Adventurer's Guild, we greet everyone to the 734th Tournament of Xai." I could hear a woman's voice from the Arena, "Today marks the first day..."
"Hey, what is that floating thing over there?" I heard Tia as I was approaching the balcony while caressing the scales of Tristan and looking at our surroundings.
At the moment we were in one of those VIP buildings. I learned that the one we were staying at was usually assigned to the core members of Silver Sword Order. But for today it was only us with our little dragon there. It was the only place where he could fit without causing too many problems. By the way, when I said us, I also meant guards, templars... and one tiny champion.
"A Spirit of Knowledge," answered her the dwarf.
Spirit of Knowledge? My curiosity was picked and when I finally reached the balcony could see a sphere of energy floating right by the fox beastkin giving the speech. The spirit looked a bit different from Agama at the library of Endorod City. It was yellow in color and reminded a miniature version of the sun.
Must be Heka, the one I read about in that book Agama gave us, it should be the same Spirit that destroyed an army of monsters during Dark Ages... all on its own. While it did so only because of the deal made with an alchemist, the fact remains that it was the main reason why Reikurius is still standing.
"What is it doing there?" I heard Phoenix whisper by the side.
I then saw Miriel smile and it was obvious she knew the answer, but before she could even speak, the fox on the podium did that first.
"♪ To anyone wondering, the Spirit of Knowledge by my right is none other than Heka, also known as Thousand Suns from the legends, the savior of our city. With his help, our participants will be able to fight at their full power, thus making the tournament much more interesting..."
Help? I narrowed my eyes. If I learned anything from Agama, it's that Spirit of Knowledge never 'help'. Not without something in return... and for an entity calling itself Spirit of Knowledge gold has absolutely no value.
"... ♪ even if someone was reduced to a pile of ash..." continued the fox, "they will be instantly resurrected with his power!"
The moment her words left the mouth, the crowd burst into an uproar. Even I was surprised by what I heard. I looked at the floating spirit with even more interest now, what it gains from all of this? It's just preliminaries, there is no way the guild could afford its 'help' for every stage of the tournament.
After the speech was over there was a slight pause, during which some warriors entered the arena to demonstrate their skills.
It was something similar to a kata from my old world, but I quickly lost the interest. Luckily the wait wasn't long and soon the tournament has started.
The tournament was divided by ranks and the stage for ranks C and below was set in a battle royal style. It wasn't exactly fair and some mages might eventually be forced to fight against warriors or archers, but the purpose of preliminaries was to reduce the numbers.
Only those of similar rank would fight one another. If one wanted to challenge someone of higher rank, it was possible, but to do so, first, one had to win the tournament of his rank by scoring at least the third place.
The first round of preliminaries was a match between seven F rank adventurers.
Even with what was said earlier, everyone was hesitating to attack with the intent to kill, but as this wasn't a duel it wasn't long before one of the participants has received a mortal blow.
A wide beam of light suddenly fired from the spirit and pierced through the barrier of Arena. The body of adventurer burst into glowing particles and as if carried by the wind drifted outside the Arena. Here they gathered into the shape of a body and when the glowing effect has faded the adventurer was standing without a single scratch on her body. She placed her arm on the neck and when found no traces of the wound looked at the spirit in astonishment.
She wasn't the only one who did that and even the remaining adventurers on the Arena were frozen from the shock.
It was one thing to hear it could do that, but to see it happen with your own eyes was another thing entirely. The fight suddenly became more fierce and the crowd cheered in excitement.
The next match was also between some adventurers of F rank.
Even if adventurers were now fighting at their full power, in the end, they were only low-level adventurers and were not that far from normal humans in terms of their skill. Which is why, to keep the crowd entertained, from time to time a match of higher level adventurers would be held...
"... ♪ The next participants will be D rank adventurers: Larnok from the Will of Blade, Sam from Ice Whirlwind, Lucy from... Angry Rabbit?" as the fox reached there a loud laughter echoed through the audience, and even I couldn't help from chuckling.
"♪ Also Leon Isendar... who apparently isn't in a party, Oda, who also hasn't joined any parties, Zubalis from Flaming Fists... and Melissa from Red Beast!"
...somehow I have a feeling it wasn't a coincidence I was called so soon.
"Take it easy this time," Phoenix smiled, and I could feel that he was hinting about that sacred battle from few days ago.
"Hey, you really should do that," Michael suddenly stopped me, I was a bit surprised by his concerns, "If they learn you are a monster this early... it will be impossible to earn much."
Ah, yes, the bets. I should have guessed.
I summoned my phantom tail and swung at him. The dwarf jumped to the side to avoid but made a mistake in judging the trajectory... not that surprising considering it was the main aspect of 'sealed illusion' - martial arts taught personally by the devil.
He rolled on the ground from the hit and then looked at me with a raised brow as if asking 'what's that for?'
"It's not nice to call such pretty girl as myself a monster..."
Just as I walked a few steps forward I stopped in my tracks. "Err... how do I get down from there?"
The only exit from this VIP area was leading deep into the guild and it will take a lot of time to run through there just to enter the Arena from outside. The opening at the balcony was also protected by a barrier...
"Nevermind," I smiled and after activating my phantom shift passed through the barrier. Once outside I used wind manipulation to fly straight to the Arena.
*
"Long time no see," I smiled while looking at one of the opponents, "Sorry I couldn't join you back then. I was... kind of busy."
"Well... fuck," the dwarf looked at me in frustration. "I was hoping it wasn't you."
Unlike the rest of opponents, I knew the guy personally. When I looked to the side where he came from, I even spotted elf twins in the crowd.
Larnok was a leader of the party that helped us kill that Irregular made of worms. We were even supposed to travel to the capital together... but the incident with the devil has changed a lot of plans back then.